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The 2xx HD channels were there first and then they added additional HD channels which would not fit in the 2xx channels so the duplicated the 2xx channels in the 8xx channels plus adding additional HD channels to the 8xx. These duplications do not take any additional bandwidth and by leaving the legacy HD channels in he 2xx it does not leave "blank" space in the channel lineup. All of this is temporary because I have read when Comcast drops all the analog channels they will be realigning the channels and moving all the HD channels to the 1000 to 2000 range.

In my market the 9xx HD channels have been duplicated in the 1xxx range for over the last year. However, as of August 1st, they have announced the complete end of analog service and they are deleting the 9xx channels.

I am sure that they will announce some additions to replace the 9xxs later.

Add another feather to the cap of cable TV provider Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), which last month announced a deal with Skype to provide video calling to its cable customers. Today, the MVPD announced it would work with Technicolor to develop an HD videoconferencing offering that would work through existing set-top boxes and HDTV sets, as well as across wireless LAN networks.

Technicolor said it would deliver a custom telepresence adapter to Comcast that would enable the cable provider to deliver an interactive video calling experience to its subscribers using existing hardware and software.

"We engaged Technicolor to design and develop the adapter based on their successful track record delivering custom-built solutions and their ability to develop innovative products in a cost-effective, timely and seamless manner," said Steve Reynolds, senior vice president of home networking for Comcast."

Technicolor's telepresence adapter includes an HDMI input and output, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, RF4CE control, external USB and SD card slot and an integrated external camera and microphone. Comcast first demonstrated its telepresence offering at The Cable Show in Chicago in June 2011 and has announced its plans to conduct market trials later this year.

After years of fits and starts sprinkled in with some small field trials, dynamic ad insertion for cable video-on-demand (VoD) appears to be on the verge of becoming a reality, giving MSOs a system that can rival the flexibility and speed enjoyed by advert systems that power Web-fed video services.

Evidence of cable's emerging ability to switch ads in VoD content on-the-fly emerged this week when Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) announced it had started a scaled deployment that's covering 17 markets, about 7 million homes. The MSO expects to complete the deployment by early 2012, according to Comcast SVP and GM of Video Services, Marcien Jenckes.

In terms of content suppliers, USA Network, E!, Syfy, Bravo Media and Oxygen Media are already on board, and networks from the MSO's corporate cousin, NBCUniversal LLC , will be joining in the months ahead. Chrysler and Kraft are the first major advertisers to sign on, with Comcast Spotlight bringing in several local advertisers.

"We believe it's ready for prime time," Jenckes says of the technology, which at long last will help MSOs try to staunch the flow of video advertising that's been leaking to the Internet. (See Plugging the Ad Drain.)

Comcast, in tandem with campaign management and ad-serving partner BlackArrow Inc. , is starting off with the ability to digitally splice commercials into the front- and back-ends of "free" ad-supported VoD content. The MSO expects to start inserting ads into the middle of shows by the fall.

That's something programmers have been able to do pretty easily for a while for Web-sourced VoD, but now cable's legacy digital TV platform is finally catching up. Before dynamic splicing became available, programmers had to insert the commercial into the VoD asset and re-edit whenever new adverts needed to be inserted.

The ability to make swaps rapidly will help programmers insert ads that are more relevant, but it will also put the industry on the path toward addressable (i.e. targeted) advertising. Adding addressable ads to the mix will probably have to wait until 2012, Jenckes says.

Jenckes says Comcast has reached the scaled deployment stage for dynamic VoD ads now that it has built out its central VoD library and developed the associated video-optimized content delivery network (CDN). Also factoring in was its investment in a unified database that manages all of Comcast's VoD assets centrally.

Going wider
But the value and scale of this is limited if Comcast acts alone. Canoe Ventures LLC , the cross-MSO advanced ad joint venture, will help other MSOs join the mix in early 2012. In addition to Comcast, Canoe's backers include Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), Charter Communications Inc. , Cox Communications Inc. , Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) and Bright House Networks .

Jenckes says ad-supported VoD is already profitable -- Comcast averages about 350 million VoD views per month -- but this new capability should drive incremental on-demand revenues for MSOs and programmers and give them upside on the ad dollars that are already coming in from traditional linear TV and via the Internet.

"This is new revenue at scale against a significant amount of viewership," he says.

Comcast has removed SeaChange International's video-on-demand servers from its production environment, with Cisco Systems now representing the MSO's primary VOD server vendor, according to industry sources.

The operator took out the SeaChange servers because they did not fit well into the hierarchical Comcast Content Delivery Network (CCDN) architecture, the sources said. Comcast still uses SeaChange's back-end management software, according to the sources.

Comcast declined to comment.

In a statement, SeaChange said, "While SeaChange doesn't comment on speculation about business agreements with its customers, it continues to have a very strong relationship with Comcast, particularly for software and the associated hardware."

For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2011, Comcast comprised 22% of SeaChange's total sales, or about $48 million, according to SeaChange's most recent 10-K filing.

Cisco, in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission in June 2010 supporting the operator's deal to gain a controlling interest in NBCUniversal, disclosed that it was working with Comcast on the CCDN project.

"Comcast, with Cisco's assistance, is implementing a national content delivery network infrastructure and second-generation VOD services that will allow Comcast to expand its VOD content dramatically," Cisco said in the filing. "[Comcast] also is exploring ways to use Cisco's content delivery network solutions to increase its digital video recorder storage and management capabilities, thereby providing customers with additional flexibility and enhancing their content viewing experiences."

Comcast's CCDN -- similar to Internet-based CDNs such as those operated by Akamai Technologies and Limelight Networks -- distributes video-on-demand assets to about 90 "edge" server locations, which are fed by large-scale library servers in four regional locations. In the middle are about 100 mezzanine gateways that cache VOD assets and manage the content that is distributed to the edge servers.

Comcast now offers 30,000 VOD choices in markets served by the CCDN, representing approximately 80% of the operator's footprint. In May, the MSO announced that it had surpassed 20 billion VOD sessions since first launching video-on-demand in 2003.

Last fall, one of SeaChange International's largest shareholders, investment advisory firm Ramius, sent a letter to the company's board of directors expressing "disappointment and concern regarding the poor margin performance" in the core software business and called on the board to re-evaluate the decision to not sell the Servers and Storage business. Ramius owns approximately 8.9% of SeaChange's outstanding shares.

Subsequently, Arris Group has been rumored to be investigating an acquisition of SeaChange. SeaChange has said it is "continuing to evaluate a range of strategic options."

In March 2005, Comcast and Motorola inked a "broader strategic relationship" that involved a $1 billion set-top purchase order, but more importantly called for the formation of two conditional access joint ventures: Combined Conditional Access Development (CCAD) and Conditional Access Licensing (CCAL).

CCAD focuses on next-gen conditional access technologies, such as a downloadable video security. CAL gave Comcast a non-exclusive license for MediaCipher, Moto's conditional access technology. Comcast manages CAL and can license MediaCipher to other MSOs and set-top vendors.

A cable industry source familiar with the agreements says the deal also gave Comcast a controlling stake in the Motorola Digital Access Controller (DAC), the command-and-control element for Motorola-based cable headends. The DAC allows set-top boxes to register themselves on the network and, when you really boil it down, represents the "brain" of cable's Motorola-based networks.

If the deal gets done, Google would certainly own Moto's set-top box business and the devices themselves, but it would not be able to commandeer the bulk of U.S. cable TV networks. Comcast has already cleaved out control of that important piece.

"The one thing Google can't control is [the] controller. If that was in Google's hands right now, I think [the cable industry] might be a lot more worried," the cable source said. The 2005 deal "prevents [the DAC] from being sold out from underneath us."

"Comcast has been good at putting up a wall 'for the just in case,'" says another industry source who's familiar with CCAD/CAL.

But to be clear, there doesn't appear to be a rampant belief that Google, which has butted heads with cable now and then and has been viewed as a disruptor to cable's pay-TV business, would attempt to seize cable's Moto-based networks. But safeguards are in place.

"I think if Google is smart, they'll recognize that the cable guys are not their enemy," a cable exec says. "Establishing a peace of sorts with service providers in general is probably a good thing for Google, not a bad thing."

The 2005 deal is certainly good for Comcast, which has about 80 percent of its footprint based on Motorola's digital video platform, according to an estimate issued Friday by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc. Analyst Craig Moffett. What about the other cable operators that rely heavily on Moto?

They should be protected, too, so long as they don't mind obtaining the DAC licenses through Comcast.

And this is all tied to the legacy, QAM-based Motorola video platform. Google's better chance to make a difference -- and perhaps exert more influence on cable's video future -- will more likely come as MSOs migrate to IP-based video platforms.

Much of that speculation has centered on the idea of porting Android to the cable set-top box -- an idea that some high-ranking cable industry leaders and engineers are already warming to.

In March 2005, Comcast and Motorola inked a "broader strategic relationship" that involved a $1 billion set-top purchase order, but more importantly called for the formation of two conditional access joint ventures: Combined Conditional Access Development (CCAD) and Conditional Access Licensing (CCAL).

CCAD focuses on next-gen conditional access technologies, such as a downloadable video security. CAL gave Comcast a non-exclusive license for MediaCipher, Moto's conditional access technology. Comcast manages CAL and can license MediaCipher to other MSOs and set-top vendors.

A cable industry source familiar with the agreements says the deal also gave Comcast a controlling stake in the Motorola Digital Access Controller (DAC), the command-and-control element for Motorola-based cable headends. The DAC allows set-top boxes to register themselves on the network and, when you really boil it down, represents the "brain" of cable's Motorola-based networks.

If the deal gets done, Google would certainly own Moto's set-top box business and the devices themselves, but it would not be able to commandeer the bulk of U.S. cable TV networks. Comcast has already cleaved out control of that important piece.

"The one thing Google can't control is [the] controller. If that was in Google's hands right now, I think [the cable industry] might be a lot more worried," the cable source said. The 2005 deal "prevents [the DAC] from being sold out from underneath us."

"Comcast has been good at putting up a wall 'for the just in case,'" says another industry source who's familiar with CCAD/CAL.

But to be clear, there doesn't appear to be a rampant belief that Google, which has butted heads with cable now and then and has been viewed as a disruptor to cable's pay-TV business, would attempt to seize cable's Moto-based networks. But safeguards are in place.

"I think if Google is smart, they'll recognize that the cable guys are not their enemy," a cable exec says. "Establishing a peace of sorts with service providers in general is probably a good thing for Google, not a bad thing."

The 2005 deal is certainly good for Comcast, which has about 80 percent of its footprint based on Motorola's digital video platform, according to an estimate issued Friday by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc. Analyst Craig Moffett. What about the other cable operators that rely heavily on Moto?

They should be protected, too, so long as they don't mind obtaining the DAC licenses through Comcast.

And this is all tied to the legacy, QAM-based Motorola video platform. Google's better chance to make a difference -- and perhaps exert more influence on cable's video future -- will more likely come as MSOs migrate to IP-based video platforms.

Much of that speculation has centered on the idea of porting Android to the cable set-top box -- an idea that some high-ranking cable industry leaders and engineers are already warming to.

Well, couldnt Google simply stop manufacturing STB's which function with the existing control/conditional access system and effectively drop support for the equipment, then roll out a new QAM architecture which replaces the system Comcast inked a deal for and therefore wedge open into the cable business? You know "Engineered Obsolesence"?
Comcast is almost totally reliant on Motorola hardware and I doubt they have warehouses full of boxes just in case they need to switch to another manufacturer if they perceive google to be a big enough threat.

Now that google owns moto, maybe they will fix the firewire software stack on motorola DVR's and provide a bulletproof/complete implementation. (Not holding my breath).
It would be very cool & likely possible to implement a complete tuner & disc subunit instead of the gimped panel subunit implementation they currently provide.

Well, couldnt Google simply stop manufacturing STB's which function with the existing control/conditional access system and effectively drop support for the equipment, then roll out a new QAM architecture which replaces the system Comcast inked a deal for and therefore wedge open into the cable business? You know "Engineered Obsolesence"?
Comcast is almost totally reliant on Motorola hardware and I doubt they have warehouses full of boxes just in case they need to switch to another manufacturer if they perceive google to be a big enough threat.

Now that google owns moto, maybe they will fix the firewire software stack on motorola DVR's and provide a bulletproof/complete implementation. (Not holding my breath).
It would be very cool & likely possible to implement a complete tuner & disc subunit instead of the gimped panel subunit implementation they currently provide.

Yes they could do that .... but the question is if it would ultimately be in their best interest to make an enemy of NBC/Universal's majority owner.

SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC)'s emphasis on software is starting to pay some dividends at Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), which has picked the vendor to power a new line of broadband-connected, hybrid gateways and set-tops that deliver the MSO's traditional QAM-based video services and a stable of IP-based content, Light Reading Cable has learned.

SeaChange confirmed its selection in the gateways and a number of other Comcast-led projects. "Yes, we are excited to be providing Comcast with our software for its next generation set-tops, gateways and back office, as we demonstrated at The Cable Show in June, along with our software for its linear and VoD advertising," a company official said via email.

SeaChange didn't go into technical detail, but sources familiar with the work say the software will be used to manage several key gateway components, including its multiple tuners, implementation of tru2way (for legacy video services), Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) and Wi-Fi connectivity, and management of IP-connected devices that are hanging off the gateway to receive and share content over the home network.

SeaChange joins a growing list of other vendors that are making or supporting Comcast's hybrid video devices, including the so-called "Parker" box that the MSO is testing in Augusta, Ga., and showed off in June at The Cable Show. (See What's Inside Comcast's Parker Box?, Comcast Tests Broadband-Fed Xcalibur Service and Comcast Demos New Web-Based TV Service.)

Comcast is also expected to use chipsets from its long-time partner, Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM), and Technicolor SA (Euronext Paris: TCH; NYSE: TCH) appears poised to become the MSO's second source for its hybrid gateway boxes. (See Technicolor's Sneak Peek .)

Update: Comcast issued this statement via email to confirm that SeaChange is indeed involved, but clarified that other software partners are involved in the next-gen box:

Comcast's next generation Xfinity TV service uses a set top box based on the tru2way reference implementation. This set top includes software from multiple partners, including Seachange who provides select software components that enable elements such as multiple tuners, tru2way, and MoCA.

SeaChange has also developed a cloud-based user interface called Nitro that can run on the stack, but Comcast developed its UI for the boxes in-house. The SeaChange stack, meanwhile, is born out of its $12 million acquisition of software specialist VividLogic. (See SeaChange Snags VividLogic for $12M and SeaChange Navigates TV Everywhere.)

While SeaChange's new emphasis on software has opened up some fresh opportunities for some of Comcast's high-profile projects, it's come at some expense. The MSO, for example, is no longer using SeaChange servers, opting instead to standardize on gear from Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Motorola Mobility Inc. (NYSE: MMI) as it continues to build out its own content distribution network (CDN). (See Comcast Gives SeaChange Servers the Boot and SeaChange Softens Up, Cuts Staff.)

Comcast and Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) were SeaChange's 10 percent or greater customers in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. SeaChange is slated to release second-quarter results later this afternoon.

Comcast close to releasing AnyPlay box for in-home live TV streaming to tablets

By Richard Lawler posted Sep 23rd 2011 5:32PM

Comcast has been talking about adding live TV streaming to its Xfinity TV tablet apps for a while, but now this screenshot of a product page from MacRumors indicates it could be launching very soon. It requires an AnyPlay box -- a Comcast brand name for the Motorola Televation cable TV-to-IPTV box shown off in June and previously a portable DVR concept from Panasonic -- that will allow viewing over the local network on compatible devices, including iPads, Android tablets and the like. There's also been recent rumors of Microsoft seeking a tie-in to bring live streams from Comcast to its Xbox 360, which could be eventually be enabled by a device and service like this. According to the page, it includes access to "most" channels, and can register up to ten tablets, but only allows for viewing on one at a time. Time Warner and Cablevision have already rolled out live TV streaming on their tablet apps, we'll see if this in-home Slingbox-approach can avoid their licensing issues.

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced it was named the fastest Internet provider in the nation according to a PC Magazine reader test of the nation's leading ISPs. The results were taken from more 58,000 tests completed on speedtest.net.

The Internet has become integral to how we experience entertainment, access content, and connect with friends and family, said Cathy Avgiris, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Communications and Data Services at Comcast. Today's connected home consists of multiple Internet-enabled devices used to stream movies and TV shows, play video games online and even video chat with friends across the country. These types of activities benefit from faster connection speeds and this study underscores our commitment to providing customers with the best online experience possible with Xfinity Internet.

Comcast offers more choices for more speed to fit a variety of different customer needs, ranging from 12 Mbps to 105 Mbps. Using cutting-edge technology such as DOCSIS 3.0 and PowerBoost®, Comcast provides superfast speeds and reliable service over its fiber-based IP network. Additionally, all Xfinity Internet subscribers receive the Constant Guard Protection Suite, the most comprehensive online protection services available from any major ISP for a safe and secure online experience. This includes Norton Security Suite, Secure Backup and Share and the IDENTITY GUARD® service.

We're going to continue innovating and redefining the Internet experience for our customers, added Avgiris. Our speed demonstration of 1 gigabit per second over our private network in June proves that we've only just begun to tap the potential of broadband.

About Comcast Cable
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:CMCSA - News) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.

NEW YORK -- CTAM -- Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK)'s next-generation, Web-capable video platform, Xcalibur, is still contained to one small test market, but the MSO intends to deploy it widely sometime next year.

The test of Xcalibur is limited to about 1,000 homes in Augusta, Ga., but the plan is to "blow that out" in 2012, said Sam Schwartz, president of Comcast converged products and a founding partner for Comcast Interactive Capital , who spoke here Thursday on a panel about the connected TV market. "Next year is when we take it across the country."

Comcast shed some light on its secretive Xcalibur project at The Cable Show in June, culminating in a live demo from company Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts of a hybrid IP/QAM video gateway with an advanced user interface and the ability to port third-party apps that tie into a cloud-based infrastructure. (See Comcast Demos New Web-Based TV Service, Comcast Confirms Xcalibur Partners and Xcalibur's Coming-Out Party? )

Xcalibur, whose initial partners include Pace plc , thePlatform Inc. and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), will also let users search for content, whether it's offered on a live, linear channel, on the video-on-demand system or stored on the local DVR.

Getting app-tastic

It'll also support third-party apps, but there are only four running in the Augusta trial -- news and weather widgets, plus ports of Pandora Media Inc. and Facebook . Schwartz says Comcast will expand that number.

But that's a lot less than Roku Inc. , which supports more than 300 apps, including Angry Birds, Crackle, Hulu Plus, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and an authenticated live feed of the premium EPIX channel. And Roku is looking for more authenticated content, akin to the sort of premium-level stuff the Xbox 360 will be gaining access to later this year. (See Comcast, Verizon Connect With the Xbox 360.)

But Roku claims it doesn't have any near-term ambitions to replicate or replace everything a cable set-top box does. "We're kind of happy being input B," said Charles Seiber, Roku's VP of marketing. [Ed. note: Input A of a TV is typically where the cable set-top box feeds into.]

And Roku has some incentive to play nice. Comcast wants to have Xfinity On Demand available on a larger, but somewhat targeted, number of connected devices. "We want to be on screens consumers want us to be on," Schwartz said, referencing game consoles, "some" connected TV models, and Roku. "I think we want to be on those platforms because they get the bulk of the usage."

And part of the reason why Comcast won't port authenticated VoD content to every connected device is that it's still an expensive proposition, Schwartz warned. Netflix streaming is offered on gobs of devices, but they're faced with a steep "maintenance task" that Comcast would just as soon avoid until there is wider adoption of standards like HTML5 or of a small number of proprietary technologies.

But Netflix is popular pretty much everywhere it shows up. Netflix is the top app on LG Electronics Inc. (London: LGLD; Korea: 6657.KS) connected TVs, said Kurt Hoppe, LG's director of Smart TV Innovation and Alliances.

Pandora is on 400 different types of devices, but its strategy to be on as many devices as possible does come at a different kind of price - some loss of control. Pandora, said company VP of Business Development Ian Geller, doesn't build a custom app for every device but did publish an API that its device partners could build to. That means Pandora loses some control of the app, and it's up to the device manufacturer to fix any bugs. When it's up to the device partner, a bug fix could take a year, he said.

Let's get this out of the way up front: Cable doesn't want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move ahead on AllVid, a potential successor to the CableCARD that would create headaches not just for cable operators, but for telco and satellite TV operators as well.

The cable industry's argument is that the market for smart video devices is moving forward rapidly on its own and doesn't need another expensive government mandate to spur it on. Cable also holds that more rules would only slow innovation down to a crawl.

In turn, cable's been trying to back up that claim by providing the FCC with evidence on how MSOs and the consumer electronics guys have been making great strides, the most recent being the plans of Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to offer their video-on-demand products and to stream some live TV channels (in the case of Verizon) to the Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox 360.

Comcast followed that up this week with a filing at the FCC that describes that relationship and sheds light on some other CE-related tidings. You can read it all here, but these the newsier highlights:

Comcast and AllVid champion TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) are working on a way to bring the MSO's Xfinity On Demand to TiVo CableCARD devices. "We are aiming to start trialing the service later this year," the MSO said. There aren't any technical details in there, but it's most likely that the TiVo box's IP return path will be used to set up the VoD sessions in tandem with the SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC) backoffice. (tru2way probably won't have a role in the TiVo VoD implementation.)

Comcast "will soon launch a trial to deliver private IP-based cable services to PCs and Macs." Again, no technical details yet, but it would probably involve some sort of IP video simulcast that could conceivably also include support for devices like iPads.

Comcast has already announced plans to integrate its Xfinity On Demand service on connected TVs from Samsung, but the MSO is working with other device manufacturers to offer similar services on a "broad range of IP-enabled devices." At this week's CTAM conference in New York, Comcast Converged Products President Sam Schwartz said the MSO has identified game consoles, more connected TVs and Roku Inc. boxes among the likely initial targets.

Comcast's Motorola Mobility Inc. (NYSE: MMI)-made AnyPlay device (it's also been called Televation) "will be launched in certain markets this fall" and initially will work on the iPad and Moto's Xoom tablet. As a reminder, the device takes in QAM video and transcodes it for display on IP-connected devices hanging off the home network.

Let's get this out of the way up front: Cable doesn't want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move ahead on AllVid, a potential successor to the CableCARD that would create headaches not just for cable operators, but for telco and satellite TV operators as well.

Comcast's Motorola Mobility Inc. (NYSE: MMI)-made AnyPlay device (it's also been called Televation) "will be launched in certain markets this fall" and initially will work on the iPad and Moto's Xoom tablet. As a reminder, the device takes in QAM video and transcodes it for display on IP-connected devices hanging off the home network.

AnyPlay is essentially AllVid, so why doesn't it use an open protocol like DLNA that any device can use (with authentication, of course)? This is the part they don't want to talk about - AllVid promotes open access from any IP device on your home network, the cableCo solution does not.

NEW YORK -- Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is preparing for a nationwide rollout of its new Xfinity TV set-top which will incorporate content from Facebook and other websites, a top executive said at CTAM Thursday.

"Our intention is to really change the navigation experience," Comcast Converged Products president Sam Schwartz said at the conference, explaining how Comcast will deliver a new user interface and interactive program guide through the set-top that allows subscribers to easily navigate between live and on-demand programming.

Comcast has been testing Xfinity TV, which has the code name Xcalibur, in Augusta, Ga. About 1,000 homes are in the trial, which uses set-tops supplied by Pace. "Next year is when we take it across the country," Schwartz said.

Comcast hopes Xfinity TV help it compete more effectively against advanced TV products from Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS TV, AT&T's (NYSE: T) U-verse TV, DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH). The MSO is testing just four apps that can be accessed through the TV in the Augusta trial--Facebook, Pandora Internet radio, and news and weather apps. Schwartz said the company plans to announce additional apps, but didn't provide any other details.

Verizon offers its FiOS TV subscribers access to about 20 apps through its FiOS TV widget bazaar, including Facebook, HSN Shop By Remote, Twitter, Yelp, YouTube, ESPN Fantasy Games, news feeds from Associated Press and TMZ, and casual games such as Sudoku and Hangman.

Schwartz said Comcast is also focused on allowing its subscribers to access online video content from their cable subscriptions on multiple devices, citing the agreement the MSO announced earlier this week with Microsoft. That deal allows Comcast subscribers to use the Xbox to access TV Everywhere online video content.

Asked by CTAM panel moderator Leslie Ellis if Xbox owners with Kinect motion-control cameras would be able to "navigate Matrix style," referring to the sci-fi movie in which the stars used their hands to navigate computers--Schwartz said, "yep."

Schwartz spoke on a CTAM panel about connected TVs and devices. Also worth noting from the panel, which included Pandora VP of business development Ian Geller, LG Electroncis director of smart TV innovation and alliances Kurt Hoppe, and Roku VP of marketing Charles Seiber:

* Hoppe said more than 50 percent of consumers who buy an LG TV that can be connected to the Internet via WiFi connect to the Internet.

* Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) is the most popular app accessed by viewers with LG connected TVs, Hoppe said.

* The "vast majority" of consumers who buy an over-the-top video set-top from Roku are also cable or satellite subscribers, Seiber said, suggesting that the devices aren't driving cord cutting.

* Schwartz said that Comcast isn't seeing cord cutting in its markets. "People are spending more time at home. They're going out less, traveling less, moving out of houses a little bit less. They're finding it's cheaper to subscribe to cable for a month than it is to go out to a movie for one night," he added.

Although this has not been announced by Comcast, Motorola has started production of an HD DTA which Comcast will probably pick up since the FCC is now allowing HD DTAs.

Motorola's High Definition Digital Transport Adapter (HD-DTA100u) is a low cost, customer premise device that allows broadcast digital signals to be decoded from MPEG-2 transport, then converted to an analog or HDMI signal intended for display on SD and HD capable devices and QAM integrated televisions. This allows subscribers to have the basic benefits of HD content in their home at no cost from over-the-air channels, as well as allow for a limited number of basic cable channels to be displayed in HD without the additional cost of an advanced STB.

I wish they would have had that when they finally forced me to get those crappy DTA's and the no thrills non HD box they were giving away. They finally stopped by a while back and offered me a great deal to go HD with a free quality HD box and phone so I upgraded, then they took away the basic box that I was hoping to put in another room to use
I, and many other users, were very upset that we lost all the extra channels we used to not need a box for, and it made my expensive LG 4200a QAM HD tuner almost useless except for locals only.

Although this has not been announced by Comcast, Motorola has started production of an HD DTA which Comcast will probably pick up since the FCC is now allowing HD DTAs.

And the important question with these is, which HD channels will Comcast allow to be decrypted by the box? Some cable industry folks over at dslreports claim it will be no more than a glorified clear QAM HD box, meaning locals, shopping channels etc. in HD, and your expanded basics only in SD. Allow you to get rid of a splitter, in other words, but make you rent a full HD STB to get all the HD channels.

This doesn't make any sense to me, I think it should also decrypt expanded basics (i.e. digital starter) in HD if you have a sub to starter or higher.

And the important question with these is, which HD channels will Comcast allow to be decrypted by the box? Some cable industry folks over at dslreports claim it will be no more than a glorified clear QAM HD box, meaning locals, shopping channels etc. in HD, and your expanded basics only in SD. Allow you to get rid of a splitter, in other words, but make you rent a full HD STB to get all the HD channels.

This doesn't make any sense to me, I think it should also decrypt expanded basics (i.e. digital starter) in HD if you have a sub to starter or higher.

I agree with you! The HD DTA should give same channels in HD in place of the standard definition channels that are supplied by the current DTA. Since the HD DTA also has an RF output it could ultimately could be used to replace all the standard definition DTAs and then Comcast could eventually eliminate all SD duplicate channels.

And the important question with these is, which HD channels will Comcast allow to be decrypted by the box? Some cable industry folks over at dslreports claim it will be no more than a glorified clear QAM HD box, meaning locals, shopping channels etc. in HD, and your expanded basics only in SD.

Comcast Corp. is testing a system code-named Xcalibur that receives its TV signals with Internet technology and dispenses with the regular cable-box interface. On a conference call Wednesday with analysts, CEO Brian Roberts and Neil Smit, executive vice president of the cable division, were asked to lay out some of the company's plans for the technology.

QUESTION: Can you just update us a bit on where we are with Xcalibur? I understand it requires a new set-top box. Will it be positioned as a premium service?

RESPONSE (Smit): Xcalibur is our next-gen (Internet Protocol) service and it provides a better (user interface) and access to a lot of different interactive services. We are testing down in Augusta (Ga.) right now, and we've been very pleased with the test results.

We are currently working on a rollout. We'll go to a major market in the first half of the year, and then we will be rolling it out on a more widespread basis during the year.

We will be able to roll out Xcalibur across a variety of platforms including the Parker box that we have in Augusta, additional high-end set-top boxes, and other COAM devices customer owned and maintained devices such as the Xbox and other devices.

So from a positioning perspective, we are not quite clear how we want to position it yet. We're working on that, and to what customers it will go and the pricing and whatnot. So that's work in progress.

(Roberts): One of the most significant aspects that appeals to us ... is having the guide be "in the cloud" and being able to move quickly to make changes and tweaks and modifications and create new apps. So we have an app we are testing. For instance I saw yesterday in the sports area where you get just instant access to all the various games on television. And you know what is happening right now and you can change or just get updates or little video snippets, a variety of things that will also work on the iPad shortly. So very, very exciting for the roadmap and have innovation when you move the brains out of the box into the cloud.

We've already gotten a large eyeful of Comcast's next-gen Xcalibur guide that's on the way next year with social networking tie ins and apps, but until that arrives, what can we hope for on the existing Scientific Atlanta, Cisco, and Motorola cable boxes? Sr. Director of Video Product Development Ted Hodgins has the answer, dropping in a link to the company's new Barcelona guide that it is already delivering to Anyroom DVR customers in Florida now, and will roll out in more markets before the end of the year. Like the upgraded guides we've seen for FiOS and TiVo, this iteration is built for HDTVs, with 16x9 graphics and far more listings information than was previously available on one screen. Other new features include the option to filter listings down to HD, premium, kids, movies, or sports content, easy jumping between days and saved searches. When we first laid eyes on another version of the software nearly four years ago we were impressed by its slick looks, but while it's still a major upgrade over the current decade-old cable box interfaces, in 2011 it takes more than a simple facelift to impress us. Hit the gallery for a few screenshots or click the source link below to meet the new guide before it rolls out in your area and see if its enough to hold you over for the time being.